Despite a clear fee cap notified by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), private medical and dental colleges across the country have begun charging far above the legal limit for the 2025–26 academic session, pushing thousands of families into financial distress.
Under the PMDC notification issued last month, the annual tuition fee for private medical and dental colleges was fixed at Rs1.89 million, inclusive of all charges.
However, admission letters and bank challans issued by colleges show demands ranging from Rs2.5 million to over Rs3.5 million as upfront payments.
Parents in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar say colleges are giving less than 24 hours to deposit the amount, warning that seats will be cancelled otherwise.
In several cases, colleges have demanded additional “remaining college fees” even after students paid university charges, effectively breaching the PMDC cap.
Parents allege that colleges also impose unregulated charges over five years of study under heads such as examinations, labs, clinical training, IT services, and graduation, extracting an additional Rs800,000 to Rs1 million per student.
“These colleges are openly defying the PMDC,” said a parent in Lahore. “They force you to pay millions immediately or risk losing your child’s future.”
Parents further complain that filing complaints through the PMDC portal has failed to provide relief.
A PMDC official said the medical colleges’ association had obtained a stay order against the fee cap, but added that the matter is now under review by a high-powered committee headed by the deputy prime minister.
The situation has reignited debate over unchecked profiteering by private medical colleges and the regulator’s ability to enforce its own rules.
Get the latest news and stories wherever you prefer.
Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.